Ashley Miller | MLiveBecky Smith and her Cavalry Christian first grade class shows the donated books they have collected to give to Smith's daughter, Shona, who works for the Peace Corps at a pediatric and maternal clinic in Nicaragua. The students, church and school have donated more than $500 worth of books and over 100 baby items. "I can't wait to put those books on her new library shelf," Smith said.
Ashley Miller | MLive

FRUITPORT, MI – More than 2,000 miles from her hometown of Sullivan Township,
Shona Smith helps some of the poorest pregnant mothers in the Western
Hemisphere at a health center and home in Nicaragua.

Smith works as a member of the Peace Corps. Her parents, Becky and Duane Smith of Sullivan Township, plan to visit her June 14 to 28 for the first time since she jointed the Peace Corps.

But they are bringing more than clothes and
bug spray.

Students and families at Fruitport's Calvary Christian Schools
and Church, where Shona attended kindergarten through high school and Becky
teaches first grade, have donated knitted hats and booties, diapers and other
small baby items to be used at the clinic. A book drive yielded more than $500
worth of Spanish-language reading material.

"We are not going down there empty-handed," Becky said.

Photo Courtesy of Becky SmithShona Smith, right, sits with children during her Peace Corps mission in Nicaragua.

Shona works at a clinic and Casa Materna, a temporary home
for expecting mothers, in the remote town of Boca de Sábalos on the Rio San Juan River, which
marks the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. She serves as the only Peace
Corps member with a team of local doctors and staffers.

Electricity and water can be intermittent and it's a
ten-hour trip by boat and bus from the town to the capitol of Managua. The
clinic's location means it is the only resource for pregnant women in the area.
Shona teaches classes on sanitation, hygiene and infant care. The clinic works
to reduce the high infant mortality rate in the region.

"It is so bad there a lot of times they don't even name their babies because
the chances of survival are so low," Becky said.

According to the CIA, the infant mortality rate in Nicaragua is currently more
than three and a half times higher than the rate in the U.S. Shona said
education is key for keeping both mothers and newborns healthy.

"Due to recent health campaigns (mortality rates)
have been declining, even in the hardest to reach communities," she
said. "Often traditional beliefs that have been passed
on for decades are still a barrier to improved health, but by educating women
and young children in conjunction with community leaders these ideas are being
reconsidered and changed for the better."

Besides working on health education, Shona works one-on-one with women to teach
and promote literacy.

"Many of these women have had very little
education and I feel that the best way to promote educating their children is to
promote educating themselves," she said.

A large number of the goods, donated by students and their families, are
children's books in Spanish. Shona plans to create a library in an unused room
in the clinic so children who have some literacy skills but nothing to read can
improve their literacy.

"I decided to start this project because I have
not once seen a child reading a book in my site within the last 14
months. They learn the basics in school, but never get the chance to
develop those skills," Shona said. "I plan to receive funding through the Peace
Corps Partnership Program,
but the contributions from Calvary Christian have jump-started community
interest in the project. "

On the weekends Shona often travels with the center's staff to more distant communities,
trips that sometimes take three hours by truck followed by a two-hour hike or
horseback ride. Once there, the staff provides consultations, laboratory work
including pregnancy tests, HIV testing, dental work, vaccinations, among many
other services.

Shona assists the efforts in different ways including giving
health talks and helping in the laboratory.

Shona said she is very excited for her parents' visit and has planned an
extensive tour of South and
Southwest Nicaragua, where they'll visit her community and many other destinations,
go horseback riding, make chocolates, go river swimming among other activities.

"I want them to see and understand as much of Nicaragua as possible in 14 days,"
she said.

The donations her parents are bringing will be very meaningful for the
women she treats and the local community, Shona said.

"These
women are usually quite young and need as much support as possible. They have
very few opportunities in life, but truly appreciate those that they have
received," she said.

After graduating from Calvin College in 2009 with a degree in
biology, Shona wanted to enter the epidemiology and public health graduate
programs at the University of Michigan or University of Alabama, so she
enlisted in the Peace Corps to travel and gain field experience.

"My dream job would be to work with the World Health Organization to research,
promote awareness of and eradicate neglected tropical diseases," she said.

The 27-month program began with three months of training before a two-year
commitment in Nicaragua. With 10 months remaining in the program, Shona said
any challenges so far have been well worth it.

"No matter where we are we face adversity, but at
least my challenges will hopefully make someone else's life a little brighter,"
Shona said. "Much of the Peace Corps philosophy focuses on building personal
relationships to promote development, so I consider even the most trivial
conversations as a part of my work if it causes someone to see the world a
little differently."

Shona said her time spent in the Peace Corps has strengthened her conviction
that one person can make an impact.

"My personal motto for these two years has been, 'Make
the world smaller one word at a time,'" she said.